When I met Harrison, he seemed to be in the same boat. We didn’t talk much about the things that mattered, I wish we would have. But I was able to pick up on a lot from the conversations we did have. The first night we met, we were sitting in his room and his room was filled with memorabilia from concerts and other things that he liked. He told me about all of the crazy and exciting things he had done. After a while, he pulled out an acoustic guitar. He started to play the song “If I Could” by Jack Johnson. His face completely changed, his whole body changed. He played this beautiful song and was so calm and passionate about it. I thought to myself, if he can suddenly calm his mind and cast away his anxiety to create beauty like that, there was hope for me. After that night, I always thought of that experience when I felt really anxious and felt like I would never be able to enjoy anything because my mind was always racing.
I still don’t know how to explain the effect that him playing this song had on me. He was able to connect with people on any level. We were so different, yet he was able to reach me. Harrison passed away this weekend. I wasn’t his best friend, or even a really good friend. But I will always remember this experience and the conversations we had. Harrison was one of the most deep and thoughtful people I had ever met. He had an amazing gift of communicating without saying a word. Thinking of the words of that Jack Johnson song, “I’ll miss my old friend. And though you’ve got to go, we’ll keep a piece of your soul.” I hope you know that you greatly affected my life. I would tell you that right now, If only I could. I’ll always remember you
